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[Jack Random]

Is there anyway to play without a cd?

Steam?

 

[Prime crotch]

I've come to the realisation of why the game was taking so long to open the save menu, I had 7 gigs worth of saves. Is a ingame save manager too much to ask?

 

[epmode]

You can delete saves from in-game.

Of course, quicksave is practically broken, considering that it just continually saves new games rather than deleting your last quicksave. ..That + you can't rename savegames.

 

[Prime crotch]

You can delete saves from in-game.

Of course, quicksave is practically broken, considering that it just continually saves new games rather than deleting your last quicksave. ..That + you can't rename savegames.

One by one, had tons of it.
The biggest issue really is that neither autosave or quicksave replace the previous one.

 

[chespace]

Oh good, I can play this game again now.

F'ing Steam, my internet went down Wednesday (bad connection outside the building) and it took Shaw until today to get it fixed. The true evil of DD smacked me around as I have 5 vacation days starting Thursday (my bday) which meant I had all day to play Witcher... except I couldn't because Steam couldn't phone home. Tried starting Steam in offline mode but that never worked either (Steam kept trying to update, then said there was an error when I told it to start in offline mode) so I couldn't even see which games I COULD play offline. Very irritating. And I couldn't download Wipeout HD, which sucked.

So uh, if you don't have an internet connection, you CAN play the games you purchase off Steam offline, right?

(sorry, don't steam much here but I'm about to start)

 

[botkiller]

One by one, had tons of it.
The biggest issue really is that neither autosave or quicksave replace the previous one.

Yeah, wow. I'm glad you guys mentioned that before I made it much farther. I had no idea that it wasn't overwriting.

 

[j-wood]

Can someone tell me what the latest patch is? Is the patch that added all those new features and fixed the loading times released yet?

 

[epmode]

So uh, if you don't have an internet connection, you CAN play the games you purchase off Steam offline, right?

Yep.

 

[chespace]

Oh good, I can play this game again now.

F'ing Steam, my internet went down Wednesday (bad connection outside the building) and it took Shaw until today to get it fixed. The true evil of DD smacked me around as I have 5 vacation days starting Thursday (my bday) which meant I had all day to play Witcher... except I couldn't because Steam couldn't phone home. Tried starting Steam in offline mode but that never worked either (Steam kept trying to update, then said there was an error when I told it to start in offline mode) so I couldn't even see which games I COULD play offline. Very irritating. And I couldn't download Wipeout HD, which sucked.

So why couldn't calder play his game offline? Just an isolated glitch?

 

[Sanjay]

So why couldn't calder play his game offline? Just an isolated glitch?

Could be that his Steam had updated and when he restarted his Steam had to update and that may have required a internet connection, when this happens no games at all can be pld offline as your steam wont even load up.

As long as your steam is fully installed you can play games offline.

 

[Korranator]

WTF how long does it take to get a verification email, so I can register the damn game?

 

[Eric P]

WTF how long does it take to get a verification email, so I can register the damn game?

i'm running into the same exact problem

absolutely frustrating.

and since you can't register, i couldn't view a moderator's profile to send an email question about it.

gg.

 

[calder]

So uh, if you don't have an internet connection, you CAN play the games you purchase off Steam offline, right?

(sorry, don't steam much here but I'm about to start)

I sure as hell couldn't. :lol Like I said, I tried everything to start in offline mode, unplugging my modem but not my router, router instead etc but it kept telling me I couldn't log in to Steam, then it would try to start up in offline mode only to decide I couldn't start in offline mode. Couldn't play any Steam games I had installed at the time (most of them SP). Perhaps due to a steam update, but still extremely annoying for me.

Anyways, I did finish Witcher yesterday. Truly exceptional experience, some pretty annoying gameplay issues in the last 2ish chapters but the story actually managed to surprise me (I did not see the minor-but-kinda-cool twist coming that you infer right near the end) and the base combat was great all the way through. But shit, almost nothing in gaming bugs me more than having a game give you a certain set of tools or item managment/crafting options for the bulk of the game only to take them away from you during long stretches at the end when you ACTUALLY NEED THEM. I had some rare teeth in storage so I wouldn't accidentally use them for alchemy (which happens a lot, very irritating you can't specify that Geralt NOT use the items he needs to turn in for rewards as potion ingredients when you have a dozen flowers in your pack that would work instead) and didn't realize that at one point in the game I would not be able to use the storage for a long time, well past the point I'd be ready to turn in for my main reward. I had to replay an hour of the game just to be in a position to get those fucking teeth.

Another annoyance was money - I kind of liked how you are always so cash strapped for most of the game. Since you need to have knowledge of the monsters you kill in order to harvest their skins/organs, and since body parts are required as proof for most quest rewards, you can kill dozens of monsters to no real benefit unless you have a journal entry for that monster. Until you're getting the jaws or furs or bile ducts of the stuff you're killing, the villagers don't give a shit about rewarding you for it. The herbs you see are similar in that you need to learn about the plants of a region - and learn alchemical recipes that require those ingredients - before you can begin mixing the potions and oils that will be crucial to effective Witchering. You do occasionally get journal entries and recipes from talking to folks or finding scrolls but the easiest way is to buy books that describe all vampire-like or ghoul-like beasties at once. Sadly those books are usually bloody expensive for whatever level you are, and you can only sell them back for a fraction of their cost. This constant need to buy damn near every over priced book on the market was a huge drain on your purse, especially since you tend to leave hundreds of orens worth of weapons on the ground behind you (you can't loot enemy weapons to your pack, you can only equip them which limits what you can sell back. Nothing so sad as seeing dozens of swords left to rust in a field while you have to sell dried fruit and bits of dog tallow for peanuts back in the village just to afford a book that will let you start finishing monster quests).

Strangely, this money issue made the game more enjoyable in a lot of ways, you had to plan out what you were doing a bit more based on the knowledge you had (nothing worse than killing 20 wraiths in a crypt to go get some knicknack out of it knowing you will have to kill 8 more wraiths later for a quest you can't finish yet). But then for the last hour or two of the game you start making huge coin and finishing up the end of long quest chains and you have nothing to spend the money on. Not only that, if you could find ONE measly bar wench you would loooooove to be able to buy a bunch of alcohol for potion bases but too bad, you won't EVER see a vendor of any kind again.

 

[SRG01]

Okay, I have some questions. I have the NA version of the Witcher EE and I downloaded the blood patch. How do I know if it's working or not?

And... nothing seems to be uncensored either, except for some dialog. ???

 

[chespace]

So what's combat like in Witcher? Is it action or semi-action (I dunno, like an MMO or FFXII)?

Another way to put it is, is it reflex skill based?

 

[Eric P]

So what's combat like in Witcher? Is it action or semi-action (I dunno, like an MMO or FFXII)?

Another way to put it is, is it reflex skill based?

yes, kind of

you have 3 stances for various situations, then you follow the icon when to attack

each attack is basically a mini-qte but you only push one button

 

[chespace]

yes, kind of

you have 3 stances for various situations, then you follow the icon when to attack

each attack is basically a mini-qte but you only push one button

And this QTE sequence doesn't get old... why?

 

[Justin]

And this QTE sequence doesn't get old... why?

Not really QTE. It is pretty basic, you just click a button and you swing the sword. At a point during the swing your pointer will turn a different color. If you attack during this time you will do a combo. The higher you skill with that type of weapon the bigger combos you can do. You have 3 stances, Fast/Strong/Group. that you have to switch between depending on what you are fighting.

I dont really see the combat as anything different then a game like Zelda where you have a two or three hit combo. Just in this game you decapitate dudes.

Here is a video that shows some of the combat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2nEnyXbBVM

 

[EviLore]

It's not a QTE. The combat system might sound extraordinarily simplistic at a glance, but in practice you have plenty going on to keep you on your toes.

-Timing. To keep a combo going you need to button press at the right moment. On normal you'll see a flame icon during your window for starting the next attack, but on hard you don't, which means you'll really need to get a feel for it.

-Combo length. Each successive attack in an unbroken combo scales up the damage (to a point), so you'll try for the opportunity to at least get the full sequence you have available in before moving on to something else, if possible. You'll be gauging when to attack and when to take another measure.

-Stances. Enemy types and group situations dictate your stance choice, and the optimal stance will rarely remain static during combat.

-Weapon type. You'll be carrying a silver sword, a steel sword, and up to a couple more specialized weapons. You'll want to be using the right weapon for each job; silver swords for magical creatures, steel swords for mundane creatures, axes for shielded enemies, etc. You'll often be presented with fights against mixed groups of enemies where you're hitting many foes at once with sweeping attacks, so your dynamic weapon choice decisions can make a huge difference.

-Signs. These spells can be used often and for a variety of offensive and defensive effects. AoE fire blast, fireball, AoE knockdown, stun, shield, curse, etc.

-Alchemy. Potions are *extremely* useful and provide a wide array of enhancements. Healing and antidote, night vision, perceptual slow-mo, skill boosts, speed, etc. etc. etc. You can also make oils to put on your weapons for bonuses to specific creature types and so on. The toxicity mechanic regulates how many potions you can imbibe at a time; drink too many and your body will start to go a bit haywire, and go beyond that and you'll die. Different potions have different levels of toxicity, and you can also drink a potion that will cleanse your body at the expense of the active potion effects you have at that time.

 

[Zzoram]

And this QTE sequence doesn't get old... why?

Watch this whole video, it explains the melee combat.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/27094.html?type=

In addition to that, you can unlock 5 "signs", which are basically spells. Only 2 of them are particularly useful though, Agni is basically a "force push" that knocks down enemies, and can disarm them if upgraded. It also blasts environmental obstructions out of the way to reveal hidden paths. Igni is a fire spell, and upgraded it lets you toss a powerful fireball that can cause your enemies to catch fire and take burn damage.

Alchemy is used to make potions, bombs and greases. Potions can do things like increase your vitality or endurance regeneration. They can also let you see in the dark, or enhance your spells or physical abilities. There are also potions that cure poisons, or remove drunkeness, or clear toxicity. Toxicity occurs if you drink too many potions in a short time, and can kill you.

Bombs are basically grenades you can make with alchemy. Their properties may be specifically useful against specific enemy types.

Greases are also made from alchemy, and they are applied to your sword (either your steel or silver sword). They can add properties like more damage, or bonus damage against ghosts or other specific monster types.

 

[Eric P]

yeah i totally failed at explaining it.

my mistake

 

[chespace]

Alright, looks pretty cool. Doesn't look much like Zelda-style action RPG, imo. Doesn't seem to correspond to 1:1 action and reaction in terms of your weapon striking something -- i.e., there's still a layer of RPG system abstraction on top of the "action".

Which is fine with me when it comes to RPGs. Looks like it gets very hectic when you get swamped by enemies. Also, I wasn't expecting such a top-down isometric view during combat. I thought it was more of a 3rd person hack/slash style game. :lol

 

[Doytch]

Alright, looks pretty cool. Doesn't look much like Zelda-style action RPG, imo. Doesn't seem to correspond to 1:1 action and reaction in terms of your weapon striking something -- i.e., there's still a layer of RPG system abstraction on top of the "action".

Which is fine with me when it comes to RPGs. Looks like it gets very hectic when you get swamped by enemies. Also, I wasn't expecting such a top-down isometric view during combat. I thought it was more of a 3rd person hack/slash style game. :lol

I never used the isometric camera. I think most people said they used the over-the-shoulder camera when the question came up some time back.

 

[EviLore]

OTS is the way to play, for sure.

 

[bathala]

I never used the isometric camera. I think most people said they used the over-the-shoulder camera when the question came up some time back.

Iso is not bad if ur lazy holding the run button. with ISo u just click a place and u auto run.

 

[Jack Random]

OTS is the way to play, for sure.

I didn't care for it

 

[epmode]

I switch back and forth. OTS looks better but is often less useful.

 

[Korranator]

WTF how long does it take to get a verification email, so I can register the damn game?

Anyone know how long it takes? It's been over a 24 hours now.

I even tried to re-create an account and it says that user name an email are already taken so what gives?

 

[Eric P]

Anyone know how long it takes? It's been over a 24 hours now.

I even tried to re-create an account and it says that user name an email are already taken so what gives?

i ran into the same issue as did MAF.

I created 3 separate email accounts just in case the email was ended up in the spam filter of one of them, no go

i basically gave up and emailed the community relations guy listed on witcher.com, but have gotten no response.

trying to search for a solution is fruitless as well.

very frustrating on their part. i swear i don't recall having this issue when i originally registered my game so it's fuck annoying that it's happening when i'm trying to play the EE edition.

 

[Draft]

Witcher combat is the shit, actually. A very fun action RPG combat system. Love the animations, too. Sometimes when I'm using group style I'll notice a thug's head pop off in the middle of a combo. So awesome.

 

[Zzoram]

I really dig the combat for this style of game, considering how awful oldschool AD&D combat was.

Also, OMG Chapter III is way more dense and has tons more side quests, and has a lower framerate than Chapter I & II.

It seems that in Prologue, it's a tutorial location you never go back to, and Chapter I is a nice training area to get used to the game mechanics more that you also never go back to.

Chapter II is the beginning of the real game, and Chapter III has a new area as big as Chapter II, but also includes all the areas that Chapter II does, but adds quests and enemies and unlocks doors you previously couldn't open.

 

[Korranator]

i ran into the same issue as did MAF.

I created 3 separate email accounts just in case the email was ended up in the spam filter of one of them, no go

i basically gave up and emailed the community relations guy listed on witcher.com, but have gotten no response.

trying to search for a solution is fruitless as well.

very frustrating on their part. i swear i don't recall having this issue when i originally registered my game so it's fuck annoying that it's happening when i'm trying to play the EE edition.

I just tried on a whim and created a new account. I instantly got the confirmation.

 

[Willy Wanka]

I've just bought the Enhanced Edition (retail) version of this but after installation it's telling me to insert "the original DVD of The Witcher Enhanced Edition". I'm dying to play this so it's really, really fucking frustrating.

 

[snaildog]

There's a 'game disc' and a 'bonus disc'; for me I had to put the bonus disc in during installation, then swap the game disc back in when that message popped up.

 

[Willy Wanka]

It was to do with the Tages copy protection system not liking my DVD drive and judging by the official forums, a lot of other people had the same issue. Anyway I put my old DVD drive in the second bay on my new PC and it works fine so my mini crisis is over. The game is good too!

 

[laserbeam]

Finally finished the game with the EE. Im really hoping there is a sequal made. One of the best RPGs in ages and its refreshing to have one that is adult not cause of the sex or whatever just because its not fluffed up to be kid friendly.

Really enjoyed the segments at certain points highlighting what your choices led too. An RPG that actually shows and implements the choices you make. Its about damn time.

 

[GashPrex]

i just finished chapter 2 - do things get a bit more exciting? I don't know if its fable 2 or what, but things feel a little static and while the quests seem interesting it just feels kind of like a lot of random wandering around with nonstop loading

That said I enjoy the game, just not sure if I can put another 40 hours into or something

 

[laserbeam]

i just finished chapter 2 - do things get a bit more exciting? I don't know if its fable 2 or what, but things feel a little static and while the quests seem interesting it just feels kind of like a lot of random wandering around with nonstop loading

That said I enjoy the game, just not sure if I can put another 40 hours into or something

It picks up for sure. First 2 Chapters are small town stuff etc. Once inside the city youll get into political intrigue etc

 

[Musashi Wins!]

I really enjoyed this game. On a lark I picked up the translated, loosely related short story collection called The Last Wish and I have to say it was ridiculously good, potboiler fantasy fiction. Some of the themes and characterization were as good as anything I've read in the genre in several years (admittedly I don't find much I really like in modern fantasy.) Sort of clever and action packed like Lankhmar books by Fritz Leiber.

I hope more of these get translated. Just a side note to anyone who enjoyed the world of the game.

 

[laserbeam]

I really enjoyed this game. On a lark I picked up the translated, loosely related short story collection called The Last Wish and I have to say it was ridiculously good, potboiler fantasy fiction. Some of the themes and characterization were as good as anything I've read in the genre in several years (admittedly I don't find much I really like in modern fantasy.) Sort of clever and action packed like Lankhmar books by Fritz Leiber.

I hope more of these get translated. Just a side note to anyone who enjoyed the world of the game.

There was apparently a Tv Series and Movie in Europe too. Movie is called The Hexer. Its not in english but has english subtitles.

 

[EvolveTom]

In case anyone is interested, we just announced that the game has sold more than a million copies in a year, and we released a video with some footage of upcoming projects at GameTrailers.

 

[Druz]

In case anyone is interested, we just announced that the game has sold more than a million copies in a year, and we released a video with some footage of upcoming projects at GameTrailers.

enhanced edition or both combined?

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/42116.html

cool stuff. guess a new witcher game and a first person shooter. no names announced?

 

[Kauza]

In case anyone is interested, we just announced that the game has sold more than a million copies in a year, and we released a video with some footage of upcoming projects at GameTrailers.

Congrats. A well-deserved achievement.

 

[Morbid Angel]

Congrats. The Witcher was great..we need more!

 

[Prime crotch]

In case anyone is interested, we just announced that the game has sold more than a million copies in a year, and we released a video with some footage of upcoming projects at GameTrailers.

Very happy for you all, the footage looks great is that a younger Geralt btw? For some reason the shirtless Witcher seemed like it.

 

[laserbeam]

Glad to hear it has done so well. Cannot wait to see what you bring next

 

[Vaporak]

In case anyone is interested, we just announced that the game has sold more than a million copies in a year, and we released a video with some footage of upcoming projects at GameTrailers.

So awesome.
The Witcher was the best PC rpg I've played in a long time, if you guys are making another PC RPG it's definitely my most anticipated game by a long shot.

 

[Mejilan]

Just installed the EE and am starting up a file tonight. First time with the game, first time running a game using my new graphics card. So far so awesome!

Any advise for a newbie? Any awesome general or ini tweaks to enable cool features (FPS counter?) or whatever? I hear something about unlocking a more robust English subtitle script, or something?

 

[Mango Positive]

I'm knee deep into act 2 of the Witcher: EE. It is on sale on Steam for $39 and it's worth twice that.

Why the hell has GAF not been raving about this game more? Why the hell is this thread only 11 pages long? Seriously... the big Steam sale just happened and I had to bump this thread from November 29th? I had to take the advice of a mild gaming enthusiast to take the plunge fer fuck's sake!

Maybe GAF hasn't really been informed about the best RPG of the last several years? I played through Oblivion and Morrowind... the Witcher is better. I played through Mass Effect and Fallout 3... the Witcher is better. There is so dang much to do in this game. They give you a big world without overwhelming you and losing focus on the importance of the story (take note Bethesda). It has seriously been a LONG time since a game has called to me like this one does. You know... where you know you have to get up at 5:00 AM and it's 11:00 PM, but you just have to get to the end of that quest thread? Next thing you know, it's 1:00 AM, you're only getting 4 hours of sleep and you have no regrets? Seriously... I think I'm getting sick... <cough, cough>. I think I smell a sick day (or two! I could be REALLY sick!).

It truly baffles me that I wasn't GAFed into playing the Witcher MUCH sooner. Console-GAF, hold tight... it's coming. Can-Afford-A-Decent-Computer-GAF has no excuse (except for inferior taste).

It's also really easy to uncensor, even on Steam.

 

[kittoo]

Yes more and more people should know how awesome that game actually is. I finished it a while ago and still think about the wonderfully realized world. Wow.